“Primal” is back. And you might be wondering how.
After all, at the conclusion of the series’ second season back in 2022, our caveman protagonist Spear met an untimely fate. And while creator Genndy Tartakovsky, who also directed every episode, toyed with the idea of turning the series into an anthology, focusing on completely different characters every few seasons, he ultimately stuck with his original characters.
That’s right – Spear is back. But how?
Read on to find out. And we cannot issue a strong enough spoiler warning. Watch the premiere episode on HBO Max now, with new episodes premiering every Sunday night at 11:30 p.m. during the [Adult Swim] programming block on Cartoon Network.
What happened at the end of Season 2?
Great question! Season 3 opens in media res, without any sort of recap or explanation. So let’s refresh your memory — at the end of Season 2, Spear was living with Mira, who Spear had broken out of a Viking slave ship. Spear, his dinosaur bestie Fang and Fang’s two dinosaur babies, were living with Mira and her tribe, a more advanced race of humans. Their existence seems like it could be happy. And then the fiery demon Viking shows up.
Excuse me?
Earlier in the season, the Viking who had previously captured Mira makes a deal with a demonic entity. He wants to kill Spear and Fang for killing his men and for freeing Mira and her fellow villagers. In exchange for fiery, shape-shifting powers, given to him by the demonic entity, the Viking will bring Spear and Fang’s souls to the entity. The Viking finally comes for Spear, destroys much of Mira’s village, seemingly kills Spear and then returns to the underworld. This is the type of show that “Primal” is and why we love it so much.
Anything else?
As Spear is dying, Mira mounts him, making sure that he lives on somehow. Spear, burned beyond all recognition, passes away soon after. A brief flash-forward ends Season 2. We see Mira and Spear’s daughter, riding one of Fang’s babies, into battle. It is very awesome.
Okay, so how does Spear come back?
At the beginning of season 3, we see another village decimated. Things are on fire. A band of skull-faced freaks has killed many people. It appears that Mira’s father is wounded. (If it’s not her father, this character looks almost exactly like him.) The grey-bearded man makes a magical potion and goes to where Spear’s body is being held. He gives the potion to Spear, resurrecting him.
But Spear is little more than an automaton, a Gollum that is following the old man’s every command — chiefly, to kill all of the skull-faced guys in expertly violent fashion. But soon enough, the old man is killed. The spell — or at least part of it — is broken. Now Spear, back from the dead but without direction, is forced to figure out who (or what) he is. And where he goes from here. Also — what are these flashes he sees of a roaring dinosaur?
Is there a precedent for this magical mumbo jumbo? Are zombies a thing in the show?
Yes, actually!
Zombie dinosaurs appeared in Season 1, Episode 7, “A Plague of Madness,” which first aired way back on April 1, 2020 (it aired as part of an April Fool’s Day reference to the COVID-19 pandemic, which in hindsight probably isn’t that funny). The episode is one of the fan-favorite “Primal” entries and for good reason; it’s absolutely terrifying.
In that episode an Argentinosaurus is infected by a disease (the titular plague) that turns it into a flesh-eating maniac. Spear and Fang have to avoid getting bitten or eaten and eventually the dinosaur sinks into a pool of lava.
There aren’t any spells or potions in that episode, but there have been witches and all other forms of supernatural craziness that have popped up in the course of “Primal’s” episodes.
Anything else?
Just that this latest batch of episodes is more violent and more moving than anything Tartakovsky has ever done. It’s his towering achievement. And the journey that you go along, with Spear, is unlike anything you’ve probably seen in the show (or anywhere else). Just go along with it. It’s the best.
“Primal” is on at 11:30 p.m. on Sundays as part of the [Adult Swim] programming block on Cartoon Network.
The post ‘Primal’ Season 3: Spear’s Undead Return Explained appeared first on TheWrap.
